Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Pressf!-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
Guardian
WeeklyJanuaryll-172001
Iraqi Kurds still dream of independence
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
Despite infighting and insecurity, the enclave in northern Iraq is thriving
Nicole Pope in Irbil obtain constitutional safegurds from
Baghdad, political autonomy, physi-
An elegant mosque is being built in cal protection and financial security."
.',$,.
Irbil, the "capital" of Iraqi Kurdistan Like the Iraqi regime, the governsituated
north of the 36th parallel. ments of neighbouring lUrkey, Syria
.~.""..
This part of northern Iraq no longer and Iran mistrust the Kurds. They all
suffers from extreme poverty. Market oppose the creation of an independstalls
are piled high with fruit and ent Kurdish state, and their political
vegetables. Recent mc1dels ofToyotas manoeuvring has not helped regional
drive along paved roads instead of stability. For several years the KDP
pot-holed mud tracks. Huge poster has cooperated with Ankara to comhoardings
advertise television sets bat activists from lUrkey's Kurdistan
and refrigerators.
Workers' party (PKK).
However, this relative prosperity The lUrks act more or less as they
tends to obscure the precarious living like in KDP-controlled territory. There
conditions of the 3.5m Kurds who live continueto be sporadic incursions by
in the area. Their security depends lUrkish troops in pursuit of PKK
mainly on the goodwill of the inter- activists. Jalal Talabani's PUl{, which
national community, which turned has political sympathies with Iran,
the region into a no-fly zone to protect has long refused to collaborate with
the hundreds ofthousands ofKurdish Thrkey against the PKK. But in recent
refugees who fled the advancing Iraqi months Talabani seems to have
troops after a failed uprising against moved closer to the Thrkish position.
the Baghdad government in 1991. Fighting broke out last September
The future of the Kurds remains between PKK and PUK fighters.
undertain. "We have contacts with lUrkey, which did not welcome the
Baghdad at a practicallevel - we buy joint parliament and government
energy from it," says Sami Abderrah- formed bythe KDP and the PUKafter
man, a leader of the Patriotic Union the 1992 elections, was far from
of Kurdistan (PUK). "But since 1991 unhappy when a deep split formed
the Iraqi government has made no between the two factions following
suggestion that we meet to discuss armed clashes in 1994.
the Kurdish question. Its stance The enclave is now divided into
towards us remains unchanged." two distinct zones separated. by a
The"Arabisation"policyinitiatedby "border': Despite an agreement'
the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, signed in Washington in 1998 the
is being pursued south of the no-fly mutual hostility between the two
zone, says Azad Ali Ahmet, a Thrkish- groups seems as deeply rooted as the
Thrkmen refugee who recently arrived Kurds' resentment against the neighfrom
the Iraqi-controlled oil city of bouring regimes that have oppressed
Kirkuk. The 52,000 inhabitants of the them. They are incapable of agreeing
Benislawa camp, where Abmet's fam- on howto share power or the revenues
ily has been rehoused by the Kurdis- from oil trafficking with lUrkey. PUK soldiers adjust a grenade launcher In a camp In the mountains near
tan Democratic party (KDP), have The border post of Habur provides Sulalmanlya In northern Iraq Photograph: Jockei Finck
taken refuge there in small groups the KDP, whose base is nearby, with
over the past 20 years. àa opening to the outside world. Thrkmen Front (ITF), an organisation claim the Kurds treat us badly, but we
"The most important thing for us aery day about 500 lUrkish lorries that refuses to recognise the regional have our own schools, newspapers
is the maintenance of a 13% share in closs the border to fetch cheap Iraqi government of Iraqi Kurdistan. and cultural organisations. We want
thtJ [United Nations'] oil-for-food fIesel oil. Quantities range from "We didn't take part in the 1992 to be on good terms with the lUrks,
programme allocated to the Kurdish 100,000-150,000 tonnes a month. election, because the process wasn't but we don't want them to interfere."
population," says Neshirwan Barzani, The international community democratic," explains Mehmet Kemal Despite the splits that have riven the
nephew of the KDP leader, Massoud turns a blind eye, since the trafficking Yaycili of the !TF. "Up to now, the region, Neshirwan Barzani remains
Barzani.Moneifromtheprogramme, makes it possible to compensate KDP has rejected our demands. We convinced that the international community
cannot afford to neglect the
which is aimed at alleviating the. lUrkey for the trade losses it has want several seats in parliament, two
suffering of Iraqis, has enabled the suffered since the Gulf war and to or three ministries and a post of Kurds in order to improve trade relations
with Baghdad: "The problem of
region to improve its infrastructure. ;finance the Kurdish enclave. deputy prime minister!'
"We began our programme to The lUrks, who would like to But the lUrkmens are also divided. a whole nation cannot disappear just
meet an emergency, but we're now improve relations with Baghdad, also Jawdad Najar, a representative of the likethat. The KDP, PUKand PKKcan
workingforlong-termdevelopment," havenaturalalliesinnorthernIraqin community, sits in the local governsays
the director of a Western NGO. the 15O,OOO-strongThrkmen minority. ment. "Members of the ITF get solution to the Kurdish problem will
all disappear, but sooner or later a
"But it's important that the Kurds Ankara openly supports the Iraqi money from Thrkey:' he says. "They have to be found:' December 30
67